Combined lid-lifter



(No Model.)

. H. AGKERMANN.

COMBINED LID LIFTER, TONGS, AND POKER. No; 277,531. Patented May 15,,1883.

WITNESSES I l/VVE/VTOR PATENT HERMANN AGKERMANN, OF PERU, ILLINOIS.

COMBINED LID-LIFTER, TONGS, AND POKER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 277,531, dated May 15, 1883. Application filed March 22. 1883, (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HERMANN AGKERMANN, of Peru, in the county of La Salle and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Combined Lid-Lifter, Tongs, and Poker; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Myinvention relates to an improvement in a utensil combining in itself the properties of a lid-lifter, fire-tongs, and poker, the object of' the same being to provide a device of this character which shall combine simplicity and economy in construction with durability and efficiency in use; and with these ends in view my invention consists in the certain details in construction and combinations of parts, as will be more fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of the device, showing the arms open; and Fig.2 is a similar view of the same with the arms closed to form a poker.

The combined poker and tongs is made from a single piece ot" flat spring metal bent in the form shown in Fig. 1, and consists of the curved head a and the arms I), the latter being bent throughout a portion of their length into concave-convex shape, so as to make them practically rigid--or, that is to say, stiff enough to pick up and hold pieces of coal or'wood without bending-and also to form a handle by which the device can be conveniently operated. The outer ends of both arms terminate in the prongs c, which latter, when the arms are brought together, register with each other and form a poker, which is operated in the usual manner. The tendency of the head a is to hold the arms I), and consequently the prongs c, separated; and when it is desired to use the utensil for the ordinary purposes for which tongs are employed, the prongs are introduced into the stove in their separate condition, and the log of wood or lump of coal grasped by the prongs, which are closed thereon by simply forcing them together, the whole operation being performed with one hand. By simply relieving the pressure on the arms the prongs separate and allow the log of wood or lump of coal to fall therefrom. The head a of the utensil is provided on its rear face with the claw d, the outer end of which is shaped to fit the socket of an ordinary stove-lid. This claw is made from a single piece ofmetal, and is preferably formed with an annular shoulder, 6, adapted to bear on the outer face of the said head. The extreme inner end of the shank of the claw is passed through a perforation in the head a, and is secured thereto by upsetting or flattening the said end against the inner rear face of the head a.

If desired, the outer or free end of the claw d can be provided with a longitudinal slot,f, and enable it to be used as a tack-extractor.

It is evident that slight changes in the construction and relative arrangement of the several parts might be resorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention; and hence I would have it understood that I do not confine myself to the exact construction shown and described, but consider myself at liberty to make such changes and alterations as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. As a new article of manufacture, a combined tongs and poker made of a single piece of metal and provided with a curved head, and arms curved throughout a portion of their lengths and terminating in prongs.

2. The combination,with a combined springpoker and tongs, of a stove-lid lifter secured to the curved head thereof in any desired manner.

3. Theoombination,with thecombined poker and tongs, constructed substantially as described, of a combined stove-lid lifter and tack-extractor secured to the curved head, all of the above parts combined and adapted to operate as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HERMANN AGKERMANN.

Witnesses JOHN (J. WALKER, GEo. PERRY. 

